Our Destiny
by Aimi nee-chan
Summary: A young kunoichi fights an internal battle of a lost love. Kakashi won't allow himself to leave her Kakaxoc slight genmaxoc R&R !
1. 1:: Shadows Crossing

I've been writing a lot lately, I hope this one is one of my best so far. R&R !

Oh, and this has nothing to do with my previous story **Betrayal** but check that story out nonetheless !

**Summary: **A young kunoichi is convinced everything she touches dies, trying to run away from her past she tries to flee, but Kakashi won't let her. Kakaxoc slight genmaxoc

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_**: One's : Destiny :**_

_Chapter 1 - Shadows Crossing_

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* * *

_

_Fuck._

The repetitive beep of the hospital machine was getting on her last nerve. It mocked her, shouting how it's keeping her alive. But that was the last thing she wanted. She longed for the cruel hand of death to take her, as it has done to so many around her. Aimi cracked open an eyelid, meeting the harsh glare of the hospital light. The light hummed softly, the sound scratched at the inside of her eardrums. Her body cried in anguish every time she moved, she ached all over. The blanket covering her did not provide the warmth she craved, the warmth of someone else, someone familiar.

A loud knock boomed throughout the white room. Aimi ignored it and continued staring at the flourescent light. The door opened slowly, she could hear the familiar _'click_' of high heels on the tiled plastic floor.

"How are you?" Tsunade asked softly, looking at her former pupil sadly.

Aimi continued staring at the blinding light 'til it burned through her eyes. She remained silent.

"You're recovering quickly, as always, and should be out of here in a couple of days," Tsunade continued, "You suffered quite a bit of extensive damage, Shizune and I almost killed ourselves by depleting our chakra."

Tsunade continued staring at Aimi, wishing that she never sent them on _that_ mission.

The pain coursed throughout her body. No sedative could relieve the pain she was in. Her heart ached and ached, not once stopping, yet reminding her of what she lost. Aimi ground her teeth and fought back the urge to scream and collapse.

"I'll be back soon," Tsunade said, "Meanwhile, get some more rest. Oh, and by the way, you have some gifts on your table."

Tsunade walked out and closed the door in defeat. Of all the missions she chose, she wanted to take it back.

As soon as Tsunade walked out the door, the crying girl inside of Aimi burst free, hot tears cascaded down her cheeks. She choked on her sobs and bit her lip hard to stop the intense pain coming from her chest. Nothing she could do would stop the pain. The ache. The hurt. Life seemed meaningless now, the light in her world was extinguished. Nothing could anchor her to reality.

Hours passed, finally, Aimi got a hold of herself and glanced at her bedside table.

Beautiful flowers filled her vision. The happy, shining sun showed off the flowers' radiant beauty even more.

_Are you mocking me, God? With a warm, smiling sun, on this cold, dreadful day?_

Painfully, Aimi scooted into a sitting position and grabbed the first vase of flowers: bright pink cherry blossoms. From Sakura. She didn't even have to look at the card to guess. Next was beautiful, ivory white lillies. This one was from Sasuke. The final vase was a burst of sunflowers, roses, and wildly arranged. Aimi half-smiled inwardly, which was all she could muster. The flowers matched the young ninja's personality, Naruto. One vase of flowers was missing, from the last member of Team 7.

Aimi didn't mind, all she really wanted, was her favorite flowers, the ones _he_ always brought her.

As soon as the thought crossed her mind, an infamous silver-haired Jounin strolled in, a bunch of purple-blue flowers in his arms. He set them on Aimi's lap and put a hand on her leg. She looked up at him and saw his eye-creasing smile, even if it was hidden behind a mask. Aimi stared at the beautiful forget-me-nots. Memories rushed into her, she cringed at the the thought. The dying girl inside her was breaking.

"Get. Out." Aimi whispered, covering her face with her hands.

Kakashi's smile became sad, he put a comforting arm around her. She shrugged it off and rolled over, knocking the forget-me-nots on the cold floor. He sighed and bent over to retrieve the fallen flowers.

"It'll be ok, Aimi." He said, patting her head, "I'm here for you."

She felt his prescence disappear, but she continued staring at the blank wall ahead of her. That was her life now. A blank wall. Nothing.

"Why did you leave me?" Aimi cried softly, "Why, Genma? It was all my fault."

* * *

The days wore on. Aimi refused to eat. Refused to see anyone, even Naruto or Sasuke. Tsunade almost forced food down her throat, 'til Shizune had to drag a screaming Tsunade away from a helpless Aimi. The resorted to feeding her through an IV, though, it didn't help her much. Her features began to look drawn and ghoulish. She began to get thinner and thinner as days passed no matter how much anyone persuaded her.

Finally, Tsunade barged into her room and said, "If you don't get healthy _now_, I will fire you, at this moment."

Aimi twitched in her death-like slumber. She opened an eyelid and glared at Tsunade with her deep black eye.

"I _will_." Tsunade snarled.

Giving up, Aimi said, "Shut it, granny. Jeez. Get these damn tubes off me and I'll be on my way."

Team 7 and Gai met up with Aimi before she left the hospital, walking out with her.

"Leave me alone." she growled angrily as she walked onto the dirt road.

"No can do, neechan," Naruto said in his usual obnoxiously loud voice, "I'm not leaving."

"Me either." Sasuke's calm, stern voice agreed.

Aimi's eyes were red and _very_ puffy, due to her constant crying. Kakashi and Gai remained silent and watched the poor Uchiha sadly. Sakura tried engaging Aimi to join them for dinner, she very rudely rejected her. She walked toward an apartment complex and was about to enter when a large hand settled on her shoulder.

"Aimi," Kakashi said in a strained voice, "I think you ought to stay with Sasuke."

"Get your hand off me." she said in a dangerously low voice.

"Aimi-chan," Gai started, "I think it would be better, too."

"Just leave me alone!" Aimi cried out.

She ran into the building and flash-stepped up the stairwell, she heard her pursuers following close behind. Aimi put a shaky hand on a doorknob and threw the door open, tears brimming. Slamming the door, Aimi leaned against it for support, she needed to be here, alone. It was just as he left it. The unwrapped gift lay on the kitchen table. His extra pair of sandals were set right next to the door. His bed, untouched, showed no signs of the familiar Jounin sleeping in it.

A timid knock was heard. Aimi ignored it and walked over to his closet.

"Leave her." she heard Kakashi's muffled voice say.

Aimi opened the closet slowly and ran her hand through his shirts, feeling the softness, the familiarity. She intook the smell, musky, and sweet. A mug full of fresh Senbon needles were set on the bedside table, only a few left, among them were wooden stirring sticks.

It was _his_ apartment. _His _smell that wafted through the air. Everything around her was _him_.

_Genma..._

She remembered running through the Fire country's forest. Enemy nin hot on her trail. She kept flying, flying through, fleeing from death. Genma was at her side, Asuma and Kurenai were just a few feet below them. She could hear Genma's labored breathing. His chakra was almost depleted. _At this rate... at this rate we won't make it back alive_ she thought. Genma glanced down and saw Kurenai slowing down, Asuma followed her. Aimi looked frantically at Genma.

Reliving those moments killed Aimi, she slumped onto the floor and sobbed, sleep came to her soon after...

* * *

_"Gen-**chan**,"Aimi laughed running after the caramel haired Jounin._

_She felt the exhilaration of running in the forest jumping throught the branches._

_"Ah, what do you want?" he said in a mock annoyed voice, turning his head. His crooked smile made her heart skip a beat._

_"Teach me!" she called picking up speed._

_Genma laughed and jumped into a clearing._

_"Teach you what?" he said playfully, bouncing the stirring stick that was always found in the handsome Jounins mouth._

_"You promised to teach me how to tie a cherry stem in a knot!" Aimi whined, holding up a bright, crimson cherry._

_"Hmmm..."Genma thought tapping his chin and shifting the stick from side to side, "I don't recall..."_

_"Bah!" Aimi yelled, pouncing on the unexpected Jounin._

_They wrestled a while 'til finally, Genma pinned Aimi's hands above her head and pushed his knees down on her legs so she couldn't move._

_"I think that backfired, beautiful."he said , grinning._

_Aimi struggled, but finally gave up. "Teach me." she said simply._

_Genma kept one hand holding her wrists high above her head and let his other hand stroke a loose strand of black hair away from her face, "You sure? It could be way to inexperienced for you. Only true masters of the tongue can do it." he said cheekily giving her a wink.  
_

_"Yes!" Aimi grinned.  
_

_Genma's face moved closer to hers, she began breathing heavily in anticipation. Genma put his finger under her chin and lifted it up so he could get a better look at her._

_"You're heart-breakingly beautiful, did you know that?" he said softly._

_Aimi held her breath as Genma closed the gap between them. His lips met hers, it was soft, sweet, and innocent. Aimi's head swirled, this was her first kiss. Genma swept his tongue across hers asking for entrance. Aimi willingly obliged and felt his tongue curl and move around her own. She gasped at the feeling._

_Genma broke the kiss and said, "And _that's_ how you'd make a knot."_

_"Wow..." was all Aimi said and headbutted the handsome Jounin.  
_

_

* * *

_

The sun woke her up. Her eyes felt heavy from the puffed-up feeling. The dream was vivid, that was the first time she and Genma kissed, the first moment they fell. Aimi slammed her hand onto the floor, creating a huge hole.

"Dammit, Genma." She muttered angrily into the floor.

It's been, what was it, 3 weeks since the horrible day. She had lost three very important people to her that day. One, more important, who changed her life, and killed it as well. She would no longer see the happy couple, Kurenai and Asuma, flirting around secretly or being able to tease them about they're 'secret' relationship.

The one person who she lost, the one that altered her, she couldn't think of his name. Couldn't think of all the ways she'd miss him because there was not a high enough number to use. The man she loved.

Days passed, she remained in his apartment, sleeping or staring out the window. Visitors came by, but she waved them off, ignored them. She didn't want to ignore her liittle brother, or Naruto, but she was in too much pain to see them.

After almost 2 weeks, she decided to visit him and Kurenai and Asuma. She stepped into the steaming hot shower and felt the water hit her back. It was still cold. She shivered under the steam and finally gave up, wrapping a towel across her chest. Walking over to his closet, she found a longsleeved jounin shirt, a little big for her, but she liked it, and a pair of his tightfitting ANBU pants. Aimi grabbed a handful of his shirt and smelled the wonderful sweet scent.

Before leaving, she tucked one of his Senbon behind her ear and tied her forehead protector around her neck. Walking the streets of Konoha, Aimi dragged her feet towards the memorial, surprised to see Kakashi standing before it.

Aimi ignored him and walked in front of them and kneeled. Closing her eyes she felt a wave of pain wash over her, knocking her selfless, making it hopeless for her to resurface and breathe again. Looking at the marker she ran her finger over the last engraved name, _Shiranui Genma. _

A shadow passed over the memorial, a cloud blocked out the warm sun.

She sat there for another hour, feeling the presence of Kakashi still there. Sighing, "What do you want?"

"We're here for you, Aimi."Kakashi said looking straight at the memorial, "We promised him we'd take cared of you no matter what."

Aimi sighed again, more deeply, she knew she wasn't one to dwell on deaths. Only his, she would only cry for him and the he were really annoying her. She wanted to be with him, _alone_. They just didn't understand.

"Fuck off." she spat shutting her eyes and bowed her head.

Kakashi frowned, he knew how much Genma meant to her, and their relationship, but he had to get her out of the dark. To move on. Many ninjas go through what she's been through. He wanted to help her, but decided to keep his distance. Aimi was always protective of him, whenever a sleazy bar girl made her way over to him, Aimi would shoot her a menacing glare, and scare her off. He wanted to be there for _her_ this time. Except she making it extremely difficult.

"Aimi...I know what it's like." Kakashi began.

"Shut up!" Aimi screamed, turning around. She snapped, "No you don't! Don't act all superior, you know nothing!" she said those words without thinking and instantly regretted it.

"Alright then," Kakashi said coolly,"We'll leave you alone." he started walking away.

Aimi made an attempt to stop him, to hold him and apologize, but refrained.

Sadly, she slumped over. Kakashi was one of her best friends, no, he was her bestfriend. She hated herself for being vulnerable and emotional. And she took it out on her favorite copy-nin. Aimi decided she'd have to say sorry to him, one way or another. Aimi knew that Kakashi and Genma were good friends, too, he even introduced her to Genma.

* * *

_"Neh, Kakashi, who's that?" Genma asked , nudging the silver haired Jounin._

_Kakashi glanced up from his orange book and looked across the table at the woman Genma was pointing at, chatting with Anko. Even upon the loud chatter in the bar, she heard them perfectly.  
_

_It was Aimi._

_She smiled at them, "Hey, oldie." she said greeting Kakashi._

_Kakashi rolled his eye and said, "Shiranui Genma this is the brat, brat this is Shiranui Genma."_

_Aimi hissed in protest and kicked Kakashi under the table, hard._

_He grunted and pain and resumed flipping through the pages of his porn novel._

_"Hi, you look familiar." Genma said slyly, "I think you're the beautiful woman from my dreams."_

_Aimi laughed and said, "Very smooth Shiranui-san."_

_"Oh, please please, call me Genma."_

_She smiled._

_"Why haven't I seen you around before." Genma said._

_"Oh, I recently arrived in the village after a long assignment in the Hidden Mist Village."_

_Genma grinned, "A ninja, eh?"_

_He stirred his drink with his Senbon._

_Aimi raised a sleek black eyebrow and threw her own Senbon into his, knocking it out of his hands._

_"Ooo, good with your hands,"Genma smirked, "A turn-on."_

_She turned away in disgust, blushing a deep red. _

_"Go flirt with some other poor sap."_

_Genma smiled rubbing his foot on hers, "There's no one else worth my time, beautiful kunoichi." he whispered.  
_

_Aimi rolled her eyes and continued talking to Anko, a hint of a smile tugging at her lips._

_

* * *

_Aimi felt her chest heave. A sob tore through. She broke down again, curling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. Sasuke poofed behind her and hugged her tightly.

"Sasuke...Sasuke." she cried.

"It's ok, neechan," he said soothingly, "I'm here."

_Genma... Genma... I need you...

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_Thanks readers!

I tried really hard on this story, R&R tell me how I did !

much love !

**Aimi nee-chan.**


	2. 2:: The Weeping Widow

This story doesn't exactly follow the timeline of Naruto. A few spoilers will pop up here and there.

**Summary: **A young kunoichi is convinced everything she touches dies, trying to run away from her past she tries to flee, but Kakashi won't let her. Kakaxoc slight genmaxoc.

Don't for get to R&R !

Enjoy !

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**:Our:Destiny:**

_Chapter 2 - The Weeping Widow  
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_Weeks passed. The once bright eyed Uchiha lay on top of the tallest building in the Uchiha Complex. Her dull eyes roved the clouds, passing the time. Tsunade knew she was in an emotional state, it wasn't safe for her to take on dangerous missions, she'd probably just kill herself. Aimi only saw Sasuke, Naruto, and , from time to time, Kakashi. Sasuke began to take care of her, help her through the tough time. Night after night she'd awaken, drenched in cold sweat and screaming. Nightmares of that day haunted her. As time passed, the nightmares began to fade, but even more painful dreams followed.

Aimi began to drift off into sleep. Fighting to stay awake, she slipped a Senbon out of the crook in her ear and poked sharp prick washed over her, exciting her senses like a drug.

_Ah, that felt good._

She hardly ever smiled or laughed.

_Everything I touch, dies_.

It was only a matter of time before Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke die. She wanted to forget. To run away so no one would get hurt again.

Her heavy-lidded eyes began to betray hated sleep, _he_ would visit her. So, she tried to never sleep, the dark-purple bruises beneath her ebony eyes showed. Aimi couldn't fight it anymore, and lost the battle to her drowsiness.

* * *

_"What're you doing?"_

_"Just perfecting my nin-jutsu." huffed a tired Aimi, giving a tired smile to her oral fixated love._

_Genma rolled his eyes, "You know your jutsu, Ai-chan."  
_

_"I'm making sure, I don't wanna take my chances on a mission."_

_"That's cause you're a hunter-nin, I still don't know why you would want that position in ANBU." Genma criticized ignoring her 'no present' comment._

_"It's worth it." Aimi said._

_She stood still for a moment and brought the index and middle finger of both her hands to a point, and shot out a stream of lightning. Genma just watched the beautiful Uchiha perform her lightning dance. _

_Aimi continued training a little while, still feeling Genma's eyes on her._

_"Ok, what do you need?"Aimi said, glaring at him._

_"Ooo, I can request?"Genma asked, grinning devilishly at her._

_"I don't have time for this." she shot, hiding her smile._

_"Oh, but I do, I get hot whenever you use your jutsu like that."_

_"Mmm, like this?" Aimi did another little dance with her lightning and shot the last bolt at Genma, slicing the stirring stick lodged between his lips, in half._

_"Definitely." he said grinning._

_Aimi laughed and turned her back on him._

_She felt strong, warm arms snake their way around her waist, soft lips carressed her neck. "Maybe it's time we quit ANBU, neh?" he said into her neck._

_"Wha? When did this come around." Aimi said, jumping at the thought._

_"It's very dangerous, I'm just worried. Age gets to a man." He said, "And you're young, cutting your life short would be pointless."  
_

_Aimi put her hand on his cheek and rubbed it softly, "Nothing will happen, as long as we're together, nothing can stop us." she whispered._

_She felt the rumble of Genma's laugh on her back. Turning her head to meet his eyes, the beautiful chocolate eyes that she loved, and kissed him lightly on the lips._

_"Yeah." he said smiling, deepening the kiss even further. Running his hands down her back he began untying the strap of her clothing, leaving a trail of kisses across her collarbone._

_

* * *

_"Aimi ! Aimi, wake up!"She heard Sasuke's frantic voice yelled.

Choking on sobs, Aimi's eyes opened slowly, she could feel hot tears streaming down her face.

Sasuke sighed in relief and said, "What the hell are you thinking?" He glared at her.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She said, wiping the salty tears off her face.

He made a small angry noise and grabbed her arm turning it over.

Her Senbon was pierced deeply into her forearm, blood seeping out, a puddle already formed next to her. She stabbed herself in her sleep.

"It's nothing I can't handle." Aimi said, brushing it off.

Sasuke continued to glare at her as she began extracting the large metal needle. Swiftly, with a powerful tug, the Senbon slipped out and clattered onto the cement roof. Aimi made no noise of pain, it felt good. Blood began pouring out, warmth leaving her arm. Sasuke looked away.

"Will you_ please_ just bandage yourself up so we can go see Tsunade?" He said looking at the clouds.

"Bah, I can heal this myself." she said letting her eyes bore into her little cousin.

"No, you can't. You've been hurting yourself. I watch you, neechan. I see you stabbing your arm when your alone. It isn't healthy."

Aimi fell silent and continued wrapping the bandage around her arm.

"You can't make me. I'll fight you, you know I win, every time." she said angrily.

The moment she said that, a thick roped crushed her arms against her body.

"You won't be going anywhere." a deep famliar voice said behind her.

Aimi swiveled her head around and saw Kakashi tying off the roped.

"Let's bring her to Tsunade." Sasuke said smirking.

"Wait with Naruto and the rest with Tsunade,"Kakashi said quietly, "I'll deal with her, don't worry I'll follow with her soon."

She saw Sasuke nod and give her a small kiss on her cheek, "I'm always here for you , neechan." he whispered and left the rooftop.

As soon as Sasuked left, she attempted to kick Kakashi in the gut, but he moved aside quickly and knocked her to the floor.

"What do you think you're doing, Aimi?"Kakashi asked angrily, "Do you think this is what Genma would have wanted? To see you hurt yourself? To be a pathetic excuse for a ninja?"

Aimi refused to answer and lay limp under him.

Angrily, Kakashi picked her up by the rope and shook her, "I promised Genma I'd look after you, but you're not helping yourself! Look at you, you're only 95 pounds, you look like you haven't had a bit of food in weeks. You stopped taking missions and hid out here. No one hears or sees you anymore!"

Her head shook back and forth from the intense shaking. Tears rolled down her cheek.

_He was right_.

Aimi stayed still again, then looked in Kakashi's mismatched eyes.

"I know, I know you promised. I'm sorry." she said lifelessly.

Kakashi looked deep in her dark eyes and saw emptiness, loneliness and sadness. He shook his head,

"I've went through what you've went through before. We both lost our team and people we love. That didn't stop me from progressing, it helped me protect those I love, now."

He paused.

"That's what you should do, get stronger, train harder, protect those you love, like Sasuke and Naruto."

Aimi bit her lip and nodded, then turned away. "Just take me to Tsunade."

* * *

The 5th Hokage walked impatiently back and forth in front of her window. 3 pairs of eyes followed her.

"Dammit where is she!" Tsunade yelled slamming her fist in the wall. She hadn't seen her former student in weeks.

"Kakashi said he'd bring her over here soon." Sasuke said calmly, fear bit at him. What if she had escaped Kakashi's bonds and left?

Naruto smiled, though, not as big as usual, "Neh, she wouldn't leave. She still has us!"

The door leading into the Hokage's room creaked open. Aimi shuffled in, still tied from shoulders to knees.

Naruto laughed loudly and Sasuke sighed, they were both really worried.

Kakashi had a hand on her back pushing her forward. When the door closed, he cut the rope off of her and patted her bowed head. She couldn't bare to look at her form teacher, she felt weak and frail.

"You look like crap, Aimi." Tsunade appraised, "Your clothes look big on you. How much weight have you lost?"

Aimi continued staring at the floor and shrugged.

A temple in Tsunade's forehead throbbed. "Aimi, if you don't change your ways, I'm going to have to suspend your ninja duties."

Her head snapped up, looking at the beautiful busty blond fearfully. She had 2 loves, one was dead, the other was her ninja missions.

Tsunade smiled inwardly, _She really loves missions, a true Konoha ninja.  
_

"I'll be checking up on you daily. I better see some improvement, Aimi."

Aimi nodded her head.

Naruto threw his arm around Aimi and said, "To start off your weight gaining, let's go to Ichiraku Ramen!"

"Idiot." Sasuke muttered, eyeing Aimi closely.

She looked at Naruto and saw a happy light dancing in his fiery blue eyes, she cracked half a smile and said, "Sure."

He looked too much like her former sensei, his father. She sighed and picked up her feet from the floor and followed the bouncing blond out.

Kakashi was about to follow when Tsunade called, "Kakashi? I need to talk to you."

He turned around and stared at the concerned Hokage's face.

"Watch her. I have a feeling she'll leave, keep an eye out." At that, he nodded his head and sprinted out the door to meet up with his team. _She can't leave again_ he thought sadly, he knew she wouldn't, Aimi wouldn't hurt Sasuke or Naruto, Sasuke being her little cousin and Naruto being the older sister he never she also knew how strong they've become, physically mentally and emotionally. Since she came back, they've grown immensely due to her help. They immediately accepted her when she told them who she was, especially Sasuke. He caught him crying quietly in the shadows of the trees, crying how he wasn't alone, how happy he was. Naruto outright bawled. He hugged her in a vice tight grip and said how he remembered a girl taking care of him in his younger years.

He remembered the day she returned.

* * *

_It was 10 long years since she left Konoha with Jiraiya and Tsunade._

_He remembered his shy timid teammate shiver in the downpouring rain. She looked at him with big onyx colored eyes, frightened about what was going to happend. Her child-like features stood out prominently, he knew she was an excellent ninja on the outside, but inside, she was just a little girl caught in the turmoil of war. She gripped his gloved hand, shaking, but not cause of the rain._

_They stood at the gates of Konoha, preparing to leave. He tried not to look sad, so Aimi wouldn't worry, but he couldn't help himself. His last teammate, the only support he had, was leaving him and he had no clue when she'd return. The hard rain seeped into his clothing, chilling him to the bone, his hair matted and drooped over his unconcealed dark eye. The mask he wore felt damp and heavy, he couldn't breathe._

_Tsunade and Jiraiya were talking to the 3rd Hokage the rain hitting their backs. Ensuring Kakashi or Aimi wouldn't hear, they spoke in hushed whispers._

_Aimi tugged on his hand and said in a soft voice, "Kaka-chan, you won't forget me?"_

_Kakashi was taken aback, "Of course not, Mimi,"he said trying to give her a reassuring smile, it didn't work, "I'll wait for you."_

_"But, you'll be older and have your life ahead of you." she insisted, frowning._

_"I'll wait for you." he said firmly patting her head. Their relationship was tight-knit. She was his best friend, and he was hers. Even though he was 14 and she was 11, they understood eachother, understood loss. Just 2 years before, they're beloved sensei was taken from them. Aimi was with they're team for 3 year, it felt like longer to him._

_Aimi smiled it lit up her whole face. "Besides," he said jokingly, "Who'll be there to annoy the crap outta me?"_

_She giggled, the sound rang in his ears, it was so innocent and pure._

_"Pray for Obito for me, and Minato-sensei and Rin at the memorial," she said, "I won't see them for a while."_

_Kakashi nodded his head, a lump formed in his throat, he didn't want to see his energetic kunoichi leave him. _

_"Don't die while I'm gone, Kakashi." she said quietly._

_Nodding his head, he enveloped the tiny girl in his arms, laying his cheek on her drenched black hair._

_Jiraiya cleared his throat and motioned for Aimi to leave. Kakashi smiled at her and said, "Go."_

_She stared tearfully at Kakashi and gave him a peck on the cheek, "Watch Naruto for me."_

_"Of course."_

_Aimi ran to Jiraiya's side and the trio started walking off, she gave one last backward glance and smiled_

_..._

_Finally, Kakashi was sent word that Aimi was returning. He began barging into the Hokage's office everyday asking for the status. She was supposed to return 2 years earlier, but she said she had some business to take care of._

_ As promised, Kakashi would always look out and watch Naruto when he was free from missions, making sure no harm came to him. It became easier to watch out for him when he was placed in his cell, along with Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura. Everyday he would go to the memorial, his daily routine, and tell Obito that his sister was coming back._

_On a not so important day, Kakashi was called to the Hokage tower. He expected it to be another low D-ranked mission for his new Genin. He trudged slowly up the tower, wondering when news of Aimi would come. He opened the door and saw a young, black haired woman facing the Hokage. Her back was to Kakashi. Her silky black tresses hung past her waist licking the sides of her hips. _

_The 3rd Hokage let his eyes wander to Kakashi before settling back on the young woman._

_"You needed me?" he said curiously, still not taking his , eye of the woman._

_"Yes, I did, Hatake." the woman spoke, her sweet soft voice piercing his ears._

_She turned around and looked at Kakashi fully._

_The Hokage smiled and said, "Welcome home, Aimi."_

_Kakashi looked the woman over. Her soft pale skin contrasted beautifully against her raven black hair, and large, dark ebony eyes. Her full pink lips curved up in a smile that was would take a man's breath away. She shifted her weight onto long, toned leg , outlined by her grey leggings. A black eyebrow lifted in curiousity as she watched his assessment of her. This couldn't be Aimi, Aimi was the short, small kid that had the cutest smile. This woman was graceful, sleek, her body was that of a grown woman, the opening in her simple, short kimono displayed her ample breasts. A tie cinched around her waist accentuated her tiny waist and round hips. The little girl he knew was know longer little._

_"Ai... Aimi?" he said weakly ._

_"You look like you've seen a ghost, Kaka-chan." she said laughing._

_She strode over to him and gave him a tight, warm hug. "I've missed you."_

_"Me, too." he said, putting a gloved hand on her head, "I waited."_

_Aimi broke the tender embrace and smiled, "Good."_

_The Hokage watched the intimate scene, Well, well, maybe something's happening here, he thought smiling._

_

* * *

_Kakashi was pulled out of his reverie, they reached the Ramen stand. He looked at Aimi, gaunt and thin, she looked nothing like the Aimi he knew as a kid, or from when he first saw her after her long leave. Contemplating over his bowl of ramen, he remembered how everyone thought they were a couple. She was never one to care what other people thought, hell, she took care of the so-called demon everyone hated when she was young. When he walked with her, she'd hold his hand and chatter on about what antics Naruto was up to or how well Sasuke was doing in his training. Men looked at her as she passed, Kakashi could already see their eyes glint with want. He sighed inwardly, she was too damned beautiful.

She fit right in with the ANBU and Jounin, like she belonged there.

Kakashi felt something for her, he seemed pulled towards her, to protect her. Before her first year in Konoha ended, she fell for Genma, Kakashi was more than happy to see his best friends together, in bliss. Silently, he would curse himself over and over for not making a move earlier, but what was to be done? She was happy with Genma.

Snapping his pair of chopsticks in half, Kakashi chuckled silently when he remembered his first reaction to the couple.

* * *

_He was walking down the dirt street, his infamous orange book in his hands. His eyes scanned the page, moving back and forth. Then, he heard a woman's laugh, a __very familiar laugh. He glanced up and saw Aimi walking with a caramel haired man, his arm settled comfortably around her waist. He whispered something in her ear and she laughed again slapping his chest playfully. Kakashi felt his heart jump but ignored the feeling and tried to move away from their sight._

_Too late._

_"Kashi!" Aimi's voice called out, waving him toward them._

_Smiling weakly he said, "Yo."_

_Sighing, he walked over to them, grinning painfully, even though they couldn't see it._

_"Oi, Hatake, thanks so much for introducing me to Aimi." he said winking._

_"No problem." Kakashi replied calmly. He had an aching feeling in his chest, It's cause she's my best friend he thought reassuring himself, I just want to protect her._

_Aimi beamed, "Thanks, oldie."_

_Genma laughed. He was never one to stay with one woman, Kakashi thought. Genma was more of a player. He slept with a girl and was done with it. He flinched mentally._

_"I need to get going,"he said coolly, "I'll catch up with you two later."_

_"Neh, Kakashi, bar tonight." Genma said grinning, the stir stick bouncing._

_Kakashi nodded and poofed away._

_He wanted to tell Aimi that Genma was a bad choice. That he would end up hurting thought of Genma having sex with Aimi made him growl in frustration._

_Why am I acting like this? he thought ,It's just cause she's my best friend , he reminded himself again. Keep a cool head. Secretly, in the back of his mind, he hope that Genma would leave Aimi.  
_

_

* * *

_"Aren't you going to eat, Kakashi?" a voice said softly.

He blinked in surprise and saw Aimi looking at him expectantly.

"Oh,yeah, I forgot." he laughed sheepishly and lowered his mask.

Aimi nodded her head and ate slowly, it tasted like cardboard to her. But it was the only way to keep her job. Kakashi finished long before she did, he just watched her eat. Suddenly, he remembered something.

Kakashi began rummaging in his pockets, apparently looking for something of importance. Aimi watched curiously as Kakashi produced a folded piece of paper and a small, black velvet box. She saw him look at the items sadly and looked back up at her.

"C'mon, I need to show you something,"he said quietly grabbing her arm, "Kids, Aimi and I are going to leave for a bit, I expect to see you three training hard."

"Hai!" the trio chorused. Sakura went back to enjoying her meal while Naruto and Sasuke let their eyes linger on Kakashi and Aimi before they disappeared.

They ended up at their favorite spot when they were kids. 5 large apple trees surrounded the secret clearing they were in. Inbetween the trees were huge bushes of forget-me-nots. Aimi looked around and wiped a tear from her eye.

"Aimi," Kakashi said slowly, "These are from... Genma. I already read it, he asked me too. The box, was with him during your mission..."

Kakashi couldn't continue.

She nodded her head and took the paper, first, from Kakashi with shaky fingers and read:

_Dear Ai-chan,_

_If you recieved this from Kakashi, then I'm no longer in this world. Don't cry anymore tears for me. I'm not sad, not sad for the time we spent together. These past 4 years were wonderful. It was the best feeling I've had for a long time. I've never felt this way for a woman before, and never will. _

_Promise that you'll live a long happy life, for me. You're still young. Find someone, be happy with him, that's all I'd ever want from you. If you're thinking about dying with honor, don't. It would hurt me even more to see you callously waste your life. I want you to have kids, raise a family, make another man as happy as you made me ._

_I remember first seeing you, across the table at the bar. You were so beautiful and full of life. Remain like that, give a man a reason to live._

_I love you in so many ways and I love you for so many reasons. _

_But, let's not say our goodbyes, let's just agree, to meet later, much, much later, when your old and gray. Yes, I'd still want you even if you're old like Sarutobi._

_With all my love which is more than I can express in these simple words,_

_Genma._

Aimi's eyes burned with tears that were begging to fall. But she wouldn't let them. She won't cry anymore for him. She promised.

In a low husky voice, "Kakashi, may I have the box?"

Kakashi handed the small velvet box to her along with a dirtied bloodied note.

Tears blurred her vision as she delicately lifted the golden hatch of it and cried outloud upon seeing the item.

It was a ring. An engagement ring.

The silver-gold ring glinted in the afternoon sun, tiny sapphires, her favorite stone, shone brightly.

Aimi brought her hand to her mouth to fight the rising scream. Taking a few minutes to compose herself, she opened the dirty note, her hands shaking harder. Kakashi clasped his hands around hers to steady her hands.

It was written in red ink, Aimi knew it was blood.

_Aimi,_

_I was going to give this to you when we got back. _

_Sadly there wasn't enough time. I'm sorry for the hurt I've caused you._

_I'm sorry that I won't be there, I'm sorry I can't be there to see your face when I say,: "Will you marry me, oh beautiful lady?"_

_I'm writing this quickly, I was going to propose during the mission,_

_but that would be highly unromantic._

_Keep it. It's a token of my appreciation for you._

_I love you, Aimi.  
_

_Thank you for loving me._

Small sobs escaped her lips. But no tears slipped down her thin cheek. She heaved dry sobs, cluthing the note to her chest.

"We found him, hidden in a bush, he wrote it before he passed away, it was clutched in his hand." Kakashi said painfully. The memory of seeing his best friend's cold, limp body brought an ache he hadn't felt in years. It worsened when he found Asuma and Kurenai in eachother's arms.

Aimi shakily slid the ring out of it's velvet bed and slipped it onto her left ring finger. She covered her face with her hands and screamed. A tortured scream. Kakashi closed his eyes, and felt like his chest was about to burst. He could do nothing, now, to ease her pain, nothing could ease his. He hated seeing her like this, it killed him, too. He enveloped the broken girl in his arms. Aimi sobbed uncontrollably, pounding her fists onto Kakashi's chest.

"It was all my fault, I could have done something. He told me to run. I should've stayed. I should... I should have." Aimi choked.

Kakashi held her tighter ,"There's nothing you could have done."

They stayed in their secret clearing for a few hours. Aimi was finally fast asleep clutching both letters in her hand. Her red swollen eyes flickered in her sleep. Kakashi carried her toward the training grounds and laid her onto a tree. Naruto and Sasuke ran to her side, to see what was wrong.

"She's just sleeping." he called out, walking away from the crumpled form of Aimi.

Naruto and Sasuke hesitated.

"Let's go." Kakashi said, rubbing his eyes.

They trained while she slept. Every so often Kakashi would check on her to make sure she was ok.

He wished he could take her pain away. Whatever it took.

"Genma..." she murmured in her sleep.

In her dream Genma was there, everything was white. He smiled her favorite smile and said, "Promise me, Uchiha, remember what I said, er wrote." he winked.

"I promise." she breathed out loud.

* * *

Thanks !

This was a hella long chapter.

Enjoy!

R&R , tellme how i did .

Next Chapter should be up in the following days.

**Aimi nee-chan**


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